Foreign Minister Julie Bishop will not mount a leadership challenge against Tony Abbott, quieting speculation she was counting numbers to unseat the Prime Minister.

Ms Bishop made a definitive statement to Cabinet on Tuesday afternoon after reports surfaced that she had refused to give an assurance to Mr Abbott that she would not run against him in a spill for the Coalition leadership.

'I am not campaigning for the job of Prime Minister, I will not challenge the leader,' she told Cabinet, Sky News reports.

'I am not ringing the backbench asking for support, I'm not counting numbers.'

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No challenge: Tony Abbott met with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Sunday afternoon and asked her not to run against him for leadership of the Liberal party

Tony Abbott refused on Tuesday to confirm if he met with the Foreign Minister to ask her not to mount a challenge

Mr Abbott has been under heavy fire since announcing his decision on Australia Day to knight Prince Philip and reports that he met with Ms Bishop on Sunday seek a guarantee that he enjoyed her full support.

Treasurer Joe Hockey told reporters after leaving the meeting to address the RBA interest rate cut: 'I have no doubt at all that Julie Bishop is absolutely 100 per cent supportive of the Prime Minister.'

It comes after Mr Abbott was ambushed by TV host Leigh Sales after she stepped out of the studio to question him at a childcare centre.

Tony Abbott was visiting the Little Pines Centre in Sydney with his wife Margie on Tuesday when he was ambushed by ABC 7.30 host Leigh Sales over leadership speculation

In the fiery exchange, veteran journalist Sales asked Mr Abbott if he would 'bring on a spill' to put an end to speculation about the Liberal leadership

The Prime Minister refused to answer when Sales asked him if he had sought assurance from Ms Bishop that she wouldn't challenge him.

'Look, Julie and I have lots of talks, as you’d expect. We're friends, we're colleagues, we’re part of the leadership team and we support each other,' he said.

In the fiery exchange, Sales asked Mr Abbott if he would 'bring on a spill' to put an end to speculation about the Liberal leadership.

'You're the speculator, Leigh, not me,' Mr Abbott hit back.

Sales pushed Mr Abbott saying 'I assure you that a lot of people on the backbench are speculating as well, Prime Minister.'

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'Leigh, the thing is that we were elected because people were sick of chaos. That’s why we were elected – people were sick of chaos,' Mr Abbott said.

'And what I am determined to do is give Australia back the certainty and stability that people crave. People want a government which is focused on doing the right thing by them, not focused on itself.'

Sales poked fun at his repeated attempts to dodge the tough questions when she tweeted a photo of Mr Abbott playing with children at the Little Pines Centre with his wife Margie.

'The PM @tonyabbottmhr taking a few tricky questions from the punters,' the caption read.

The ABC told Daily Mail Australia that Sales liked to get out of the studio as much as possible and went to press conferences from time to time.

Mr Abbott and his wife Margie visited the childcare with local member Craig Laundy to talk about the government's jobs and families package

Ms Bishop says she is not counting numbers and his not calling backbenchers

The press conference was streamed live on the ABC and some took to social media to comment on Leigh Sales' showing up to question Mr Abbott

The ABC said Sales liked to get out of the studio as much as possible and went to press conferences from time to time

Mr Abbott also refused to deny reports he met with Ms Bishop and asked her not to mount a challenge when he appeared on Channel Seven's Sunrise on Tuesday morning.